That looks cool, I said, about halfway through Summer Game Fest when I first saw Highwater. oh that looks like really cool, I said again, around the same time during the Xbox and Bethesda showcase a few days later—this time admiring The Last Case of Benedict Fox. Currently under development from indie outfits Demagog Studio and Plot Twist respectively, these games really couldn’t be more different from each other. One is a story-driven adventure set in a flooded post-apocalyptic world with isometric combat. The other is a Lovecraftian Metroidvania unfolding in a twisted demonic underworld. One is bright and colorful, the other dark and desolate. One looks like Kentucky meets Route Zero Oxenfree with guns, the other saved my Hollow Knight: Silksong E3 disappointment.
One thing that binds both Highwater and The Last Case of Benedict Fox is style. Both are dripping in, but another crucial factor also binds the two: their publisher, Rogue Games. “We’re looking for games with a signature element, and yes, style will punch you in the face first, right?” says Rogue Games co-founder and CEO Matt Casamassina. “But we’re not prescriptive about what those elements ultimately are. They just have to get to us.”
Go rogue
Both Highwater and The Last Case of Benedict Fox definitely grabbed me on the first viewing – something I was particularly impressed with considering they shared show time with big budget hits like Starfield and The Callisto Protocol. Casamassina admits it’s not easy to get noticed among such stiff, high-profile competition, but if your games have the space to stand out in such a crowded space, it just gets that little bit easier. Highwater and The Last Case of Benedict Fox certainly fit this bill, as do some of Rogue’s other upcoming projects such as Cookie Cutter and Homebody – games that, again, are hardly stablemates, but equally standout in terms of delivery and content.
“We’re looking for potential, which can really mean a lot. But something jumps out. Maybe it’s an incredible concept. Maybe the art is amazing. Maybe it’s so weird that we can’t resist. The point is, something jumps at us out,” explains Casamassina. “Sometimes that potential is recognizable very early on with great pitch and concept art. Other times it only becomes apparent when it’s all in motion through gameplay footage – in real time or rendered to mimic what the studio wants to achieve. And in on rare occasions, we don’t recognize it until the first playable. You get your hands on the experience and something clicks that all the words and video in the world before it just couldn’t convey effectively.”
That last part is particularly interesting, because Casamassina was once a co-founder of IGN.com and served as its editor-in-chief and, later, editor-in-chief. He then built and led Apple’s App Store gaming team for nearly a decade. Words and video are Casamassina’s bread and butter, and yet Rogue Games remains open to the right projects, as long as they fit into its increasingly impressive portfolio. Nevertheless, Casamassina’s editorial background helps to shape that vision and that process. He adds: “I’ve spent two decades deconstructing games from an editorial standpoint. You learn a lot about games and game development, but you also learn a lot about yourself. What you love. What you hate. What you hate. must have and what you absolutely do not tolerate in games.”
“I bring the same sensitivities to Rogue, which is frustrating at times for our business development and studio teams, I have no doubt. Imagine a scenario where people are excited to show me a new game and I spend all the time questioning the spotty framerate “Yeah, I’m that bastard. I can not help it. It has been imprinted on me over the years. The advantage, however, is that there are no soft opinions and we have very high expectations for our portfolio and ourselves. You mentioned the importance of first impressions and I totally agreed. That’s why we’re announcing new games with Xbox, with Geoff Keighley, with IGN and in collaboration with great contributors like the Game Grumps.”
Through Hell or Highwater
“If Cookie Cutter and Benedict Fox don’t make one of the best lists, I’ll be shocked.”
Of course Casamassina’s editorial nous works both ways. He’s a self-confessed Nintendo nerd – “I’m not even going to try to deny it, everyone who knows me knows” – and it’s reflected in The Last Case of Benedict Fox and Cookie Cutter’s Metroidvania trappings, and Super Mega Zero’s motherfucker-hard retro platformer makeup.
Cookie Cutter is probably the most obvious comparison here, but the tantalizing catalog Rogue is building reminds me of Devolver Digital – a publisher whose repertoire exudes style and panache and is filled with games that are instantly recognisable. Games that almost always fly under the Devolver flag look like Devolver games, despite being made by a lot of different developers in different genres, and it looks like Rogue, from the outside, is building something similar. Casamassina is flattered by the comparison, jokingly citing Daniel Mullins Games and Devolver’s Inscryption as a project that “at the same time made him happy that a publisher helped market something so bad, even as I watch silently with a jealous bloodthirsty rage.” that it wasn’t Villain.”
Just kidding, Casamassina is, as you might expect, proud of Rogue’s already existing catalog and looks forward to the projects the publisher will welcome in the future. A measure of the variety in Rogue’s current upcoming lineup is reflected in the things Casamassina loves about each game. For example, he describes The Last Case of Benedict Fox as wonderfully gothic, strikingly beautiful and something that “feels like it was ripped out of Tim Burton’s brain”. Highwater, on the other hand, is a game that players take their time with. They will get lost in his world and enjoy hopping between the more sedate and thoughtful moments with his frenetic battles. “One minute you’re sailing past this serene waterscape taking photos and the next – yuck – you’re surrounded by a group of enemies and suddenly the whole experience changes.”
Homebody, from Game Grumps, pays tribute to classic ’90s survival horror in style and substance – but Casamassina believes dealing with emotion and fear within the classic murderer on the loose scenario is what sets it apart from old and new horror games. Casamassina also thinks the hand-drawn 2D Metroidvania Cookie Cutter “will terrify people when it ships next year,” due to its looks and depth of exploration and “Souls-like level” combat. Casamassina proudly adds, “If Cookie Cutter and Benedict Fox don’t make the best lists, I’ll be shocked.”
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